It's a new week, and the focus item is Cooking Oil

(Image courtesy of agoosa.com)

It's the week of Thanksgiving....and many of us are planning and preparing for the big day this Thursday.  One of the main ingredients that many of us will need is cooking oil.  Coincidentally, it is also the focus item for this week....so that makes it very easy.

There may be some confusion about what types of oils are used for various types of cooking.  The following information is from an article entitled Cooking Oils 101.  Hopefully you will learn about new types of oils you hadn't previously considered trying, and also what they are best suited for:

Vegetable Oil

Vegetable Oil is probably the most commonly used of all the oils. It can be found frequently for use in recipes and can also be used for frying. Vegetable oil is actually a blend of several oils, such as corn, soybean, palm and sunflower.

Canola Oil

Canola oil has been said to be one of the most healthy of the cooking oils because of its low saturated fat content and high mono unsaturated fat. It is commonly used in frying, but only with medium frying temperatures, about 450 degrees F.

Corn Oil

Corn oil is relatively low on both saturated and mono unsaturated fats. It is popular in margarine and used in both frying and baking. It should only be used when frying on medium temperatures.

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower Oil is low in saturated fat and high in Vitamin E. Many food manufacturers are recognizing the health benefits of sunflower oil and are using it as the preferred oil in such snack foods as potato chips. It can be used in the home to fry, cook, and for use in salad dressings.

Olive Oil

There are different varieties of olive oil: extra virgin, virgin, extra light, and refined. Extra virgin olive oil is the most common of those used. There are many uses for all varieties, such as stir-frying, cooking, sauteing and as an ingredient in recipes.Olive Oil is also frequently used in salad oils. It is the most healthy of all the oils as it is high in mono unsaturated fat which has been shown to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Many people use it daily in their meals, drizzling it over a wide variety of foods.

Peanut Oil

Peanut oil is a great oil to use when frying in high temperatures. It is a common oil during the Thanksgiving holiday as many people are using turkey fryers to fry their turkeys, but can be used anytime when frying.